At least 30 people have been killed after a huge fire broke out at a hospital in South Korea.
Dozens more were injured, some critically, in the blaze at Sejong Hospital in the city of Miryang, making it the country’s deadliest fire in almost a decade.
Around 200 patients were reportedly inside the building and adjoining nursing home when the fire broke out on Friday – with many safely evacuated.
Fire officials said they put out the blaze at 10.26am (1.26am GMT), nearly three hours after it started at the first-floor emergency room of the hospital.
Miryang fire official Choi Choi Man-wu said the cause of the fire was not yet known.
"The victims came both from the hospital and the nursing home. Some died on their way to another hospital," he said.
President Moon Jae-in convened an emergency meeting with senior advisers and expressed regret over the blaze.
He ordered officials to provide medical support to the survivors, determine the cause of the fire and plan measures to prevent future fires.
South Korea is one of the fastest-aging countries in the world and has many nursing hospitals, which are preferred for elderly people who need long-term doctors' care.
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